Location: Almost to Barbados!!!
Hello!! Today was an incredible day, and everyone is soaking it up even more since we’ve arrived at our last couple of days of long passage. We have been sailing super duper fast (right now, we’re flying at 10-ish knots), which has been amazing. This morning started off with a midnight 4 am watch with Watch Team 3 (Olympus, Isaac, Darien, and I), which was super starry and bright with a beautiful moon. Ben was the head chef today, and he baked our watch team an extra special treat, which definitely helped with the late watch. Darien was watch team leader and guided us in trimming the sails and all things wind-related. When we went to bed, we were all so excited to find invitations in our bunks that invited us to attend a “Sunset Soiree” with Watch Team 1! We RSVPed without really knowing what that entailed, and we were all so glad we did.
Watch Team 1 woke us up after a short nap at around 6 am and they had prepared hot cocoa, popcorn, cinnamon buns, and even put up sail ties as streamers in the cockpit. The sunrise was actually stunning (photos don’t do it justice), and all the treats tasted amazing. At this stage in the trip, everyone has pretty much run out of snacks, so the sweet treats are sooo valuable, haha. Ben made some focaccia sandwiches today for lunch, which was awesome, and then we had classes. First, we had a super interesting marine bio lecture, and then Nicole surprised us by telling everyone to run and put on our swimsuits and our type-1 PFDs (the bright orange things). We all ran onto the deck to play a game that basically went like this: Nicole would ask each watch team question about their watch team leaders, and, if guessed incorrectly, the watch team leader would dump a bucket of seawater over our heads. Watch Team 3 won woop woop!
That was a great way to cool off on a hot day. After that, we had our first day of SCUBA content. The beginners (most of us) watched a film about SCUBA procedures and rules and then took our first quiz. I think the certified kids also had to do something for SCUBA, but I’m not sure what. At the moment, lots of people are pulling all-nighters in the salon to finish their coral reef essays. Calum also announced some really exciting things today about some of our next destinations, and we are all pumped to start diving in Barbados and finally get some real time in the water. Wish me luck somehow staying awake for my 8-midnight watch right now.
To Mom, Dad, Sarah, and anyone else from home reading this: I can’t wait to talk to you guys so soon!!! I miss you all tons and think about you every day. I’ll give you all the deets when we reach Barbados yayyyyyy.
XOXO Cec